Johan Cruyff Reveals Who Is The Better Player Between Cristiano Ronaldo And Lionel Messi

Dutch icon Johan Cruyff slammed "ridiculous" suggestions that Cristiano Ronaldo is a much better player than fierce rival Lionel Messi.

Cruyff, who passed away in 2016, is widely considered the 'modern father of football' and one of the best players of all time.

And the Barcelona and Ajax legend previously weighed in on the heated long-running debate surrounding Messi and Ronaldo.

Cruyff argued in 2015 that Juventus superstar Ronaldo is predominantly a "goalscorer" and Messi is "much more a team player than Cristiano is."

The three-time Ballon d'Or winner explained: "I've always liked technical players because I've been a bit like that. Cristiano is a great player, but he's just a goalscorer.

"Cristiano will never be the player who can create or take care that his team plays well. He is just a finisher.

"Messi is much more a team player than Cristiano is. He scores but also produces many assists. For me, as a player, Messi is better. There is a big difference in being just a great goalscorer and being the best player.

"Messi deserves [the] Ballon d'Or, no discussion. Every person that understands football knows this. It's absolutely ridiculous to me that some people actually think Messi isn't the best.

"This isn't about Cristiano at all. He's a fantastic player, one of the best goalscorers ever. This is about how ridiculously good Messi is."

Cruyff's bold claim on Ronaldo in 2011 resurfaced recently as he suggested that the Portuguese forward wouldn't become one of football's all-time best players like Messi.

"Yes, he's [Messi] on his way," Cruyff said at the time.

"He's just played now four years or something like that and the others have played at least 14 years, so he's got 10 more years to go with same quality and, hopefully, same success.

"A little more difficult [for Ronaldo], I think.

"All the people mentioned were players from the street and Ronaldo is more of a physical player, while in the others mentioned are not physical players [but] pure technical players -- pure technique."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Serie A, Lionel Messi, Juve, old lady, Juventus, Johan Cruyff, Cristiano Ronaldo, Barca

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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